Undecided/Undeclared Anteaters Blog

December 7, 2009

Oh how I wish finals were over.

It still hasn’t hit me that the quarter is practically over. On Friday during lectures, all the professors were like, “It was a pleasure getting to teach you,” and I was just thinking to myself, “Wait, what? You’re finished teaching us?” I’m just extremely accustomed to the way high school was. You know, having the same teachers for the ENTIRE YEAR! But now, time just flies by so quickly that you don’t even notice.

At the beginning of the quarter, I was scared. I was a little homesick. I was nervous about meeting new people. I was everything that I’m not now. It’s amazing how one quarter can really change you as a person, and no, I’m not exaggerating. If I already knew how SPOP was able to make a difference, I should have known how much a whole quarter could change me. I’m much more confident. I love being here at UCI so much, that sometimes, I feel like I don’t want to go home for Winter Break. Crazy, right? But it’s true. Of course, I would love to go home and I can’t wait until Saturday, but there’s just this new sense of pride in me that makes me feel more confident and independent. I’m proud of that because that was something that I truly hoped I gained from coming to UCI and choosing to live in the dorms. And to think, this is only my first quarter. Imagine all that I’m going to accomplish at the end of the year!!! Whooo…..I’m excited!

Okay, so I wanted to talk about something that I thought was important to talk about: SCHEDULING! (Or maybe I just need to vent.) Being in the U/U program is awesome. There are many reasons that prove that statement, but there’s one in particular that relates to this, which is mandatory academic advising. I had no clue that each person had a different enrollment window, and I found this out during my advising session. My advisor helped me pick out my schedule and she informed me about other things I needed to do throughout the year (things I didn’t know I had to do!!) So I thought that was pretty cool. I know students who haven’t even visited a counselor/advisor, and they are completely clueless (I don’t mean to be rude. Remember, I was clueless too.) So, if you need information, ask or set an appointment with an advisor and they will definitely help you!
But anyways, my enrollment window opened on Friday, which wasn’t very exciting because most of the class times that I wanted are full. Therefore, I had to switch up my schedule. Also, Writing 39B is full, AGAIN. So now I must wait until Spring Quarter. Hopefully, the second enrollment window (December 18) opens up some slots for classes that I originally wanted!

Okay my fellow readers, it’s time to say goodbye for now!!
Best of luck on finals!

LOVE, daisy

November 29, 2009

THIS WEEKEND WAS THE BEST!

I loved going home!! I live in San Jose, which is a about a one hour flight from Orange County, but probably around a six hour drive, so it’s pretty far. It was my first time going home since I moved to Irvine. Thankfully, much hasn’t changed since I left. It was nice sleeping in my own bed, and being in my own bathroom again. Also, it was great getting to eat home cooked food. I was getting really tired of Mesa Commons. Speaking of commons, I need to change my meal plan. I got the middle plan, which I believe is 120 meals, and I’m changing it to the biggest meal plan. At first, I thought I wasn’t going to eat that much, but it turns out that I actually eat three times a day most of the time. I have about 15 swipes left for this quarter, which isn’t enough to last me for the next two weeks, so I walked to Albertsons today and bought myself a whole bunch of food.

Anyways, when I left to the airport last Wednesday, I took a taxi cab with a friend and the cost was $15! I don’t really know about taxi services, but to me, $15 is expensive for a five minute drive! I wish I signed up early for the UCI shuttle services. I missed the deadline. If I made it, then I wouldn’t have had to waste money. I tried calling last minute too, but I kept getting the voicemail and they said they were full. Luckily, this morning for my return back to UCI, there was extra space in the shuttle and I didn’t need to reserve a seat.

So last Friday wasn’t just an ordinary Friday. It was BLACK FRIDAY!! I refused to be one of the early shoppers this year. I still got what I wanted though, which is a Macbook Pro. I was going to buy it here at the UCI bookstore, but they sold out and they were taking forever to get my order in. So I just bought one at an apple store. It was $100 off the original price, which is the same price at the bookstore, so I thought I’d just buy it there. And while I was there, there was some kind of press taking pictures. So if you google my name, and click on this website, AP Images, you’ll see me in my UCI sweatshirt and my niece playing with a Mac. It was pretty cool because they were talking to me about how I would be using my new Mac at UCI. It wasn’t anything big though. I’m just glad I was wearing my UCI sweatshirt so I could represent where I go.

I love San Jose, but I’m super glad to be back in Irvine.

Oh, and a little message for finals week: BRING IT ON!!!!

LOVE, daisy

November 22, 2009

FOUR MORE DAYS UNTIL I GO HOME!!! Thanksgiving break is going to be the best! I’m leaving on Wednesday night and coming back Sunday morning. I have no clue why I booked my flight for Sunday morning. That means I’m going to be in Irvine for the whole day with nothing to do! For my next return, I’ll be sure to book it at night or late afternoon. So for my Thanksgiving break, this is what I plan to do:
Wednesday: Fly to San Jose, eat at Goldilocks (a Filipino restaurant), shop a little, and spend time with my family and two doggies!
Thursday: Happy Turkey Day!!! Eat yummy food, watch New Moon ( I wasn’t able to go because I have no car here. That’s why I’m going to apply for a ZIPCAR!), and relax at home.
Friday: Black Friday!! Shopping (of course), and drive to RENO!
Saturday: Snowboard ALL DAY! Then, go back to San Jose at night.
Sunday: Fly back to Irvine.

If you can’t tell by my extreme use of exclamation points, I AM VERY EXCITED FOR NEXT WEEKEND!!! Yes, I miss home that much.

This week was Hunger and Homelessness week at UCI, so on Thursday, I went to this event at the flagpoles, hosted by SHOUT (Students for Homeless Outreach United Together.)

It was pretty interesting. We were preparing breakfast bags and hygiene kits for the homeless. It made me really sad because they only had a little bit of stuff. For example, in the hygiene kits, in each we put a pair of socks, lotion, conditioner, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc. It was those mini kinds that are offered in hotels. It was pretty depressing to see how homeless people didn’t have much to live off of. It made me appreciate what I have and see how lucky I am to have shelter and food to fill my tummy. Overall, the night was fun and I’m glad I went. I didn’t stay the whole night though like a few people did. The main part of the event was to sleep outside for the night to get a feeling of how homeless people feel. It was extremely cold and I had class at 8:00am the next morning so I didn’t want to stay the whole night. At least I participated in some parts though. I’ll probably do the sleep-out next year, and hopefully even join SHOUT.

Hope you enjoyed this week’s blog!

LOVE, daisy

November 14, 2009

I’m so glad it’s the end of week 7! That means four more weeks until WINTER BREAK! YAY!!!! But that also means 3 more weeks until finals. BOO! It’s time to start studying super hard. No more cramming for me.

So this past week was pretty relaxing, especially because there was no class on Wednesday. This worked out perfectly because I usually have no class on Tuesday, then I got Wednesday off, and I only had one class on Thursday. Wednesdays are usually my busy days too so I got really lucky!

Picking up from last weeks blog, when the housing apps opened, it was crazy! Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE in my hall was up super early so they can log on right when it opened; and as it was predicted, the website crashed. I woke up at 6:30am so I can log on to apply right at 7am, but no one in my hall was able to get through the website. We waited and waited and some people didn’t even go to their 8:00am class so they could keep pressing the refresh button and hope the housing application finally loaded. My roommate and I decided to go to breakfast, bring our laptops to class, and try getting through the app from there. My roommate ended up getting through right away, but for me, my computer kept stating “ERROR” and it wouldn’t submit my application! So then I used my roommate’s computer to apply and it got submitted right away. My submission time was 8:50am. Housing is first come first serve, so hopefully I get VDC. So far, I heard that the earliest submission was at 7:37am! UNBELIEVABLE, but true.

Sorry to keep this blog short, but I’ll be updating more throughout the week! Have a wonderful weekend!
And remember, don’t be shy…leave a comment and I’ll reply!

LOVE, daisy

November 8, 2009

Tomorrow I’ll finally be done with all my midterms. That makes me VERY happy! However, since I’ve been busy with midterms, I now have to catch up with all my other classes. Then, FINALS! Studying is just never-ending. Here’s a piece of advice for those of you who are like me and wait until the very last minute to get things done: STOP PROCASTINATING and LEARN HOW TO MANAGE YOUR TIME!! If only I could take my own advice. =) Actually, the other night I had an epiphany. I realized that I’m in college now, and although it is very tempting and easy not to go to class and pay attention, money from my own pocket is being spent. I’m paying to be here so I should really make the best out of it and do well in all my classes. Speaking of classes, I’ve already picked out my schedule for next quarter. I’ll be taking Bio 94, Writing 39B, Chemistry 1A, and Intro to Psychology. Hopefully I get all the times that I want for each class. I’ll let you know how that goes in the future.

Okay, so tomorrow at 7:00AM will be a very interesting time. Why? Because that’s when housing applications are going to open for next year! I’m planning to apply for Vista Del Campo, which are apartments right behind the ARC (which is our gym/recreation center). Vista Del Campo is the most popular out of all the student housing, and I actually heard that last year, a few minutes after the applications opened, there was already a waiting list! Crazy right? That’s why my “roommates” and I are planning to wake up extra early and apply right when it opens. It kind of stinks that we already have to think about moving when it’s barely out first quarter here in Mesa Court. But it’s cool because we can get an idea of where we are going to live next year. You should check out all the UCI Housing information when you have the chance.

Since we are on the topic of housing, here’s a picture of my current room. Next week I’ll try to put up more pictures!

Feel free to leave any comments or ask any questions!! Don’t be shy!! i don’t bite. =)

LOVE, daisy

November 1, 2009

Hey everybody!!
This week went by super fast. I can’t believe it’s already week 6! On Wednesday, I had my Bio 93 midterm, and boy am I happy that it’s over. I was stressing over that for a while, but now that it’s done, I feel so relieved. Right after the exam I was a little worried though because I wasn’t too sure about some answers. I studied so hard but it didn’t have much of the material that I studied for. I hate when that happens. I learned from this midterm that I really need to study hard from the start of the quarter. Therefore, when midterms come around, I’m not too stressed about cramming everything.

This coming Wednesday I have my Human Geography midterm. I’m so happy that it’s a take home midterm. So far in this class, we have had one in class quiz, and two take home tests. Sounds easy right? WRONG. Take home tests does not necessarily mean you could just look up the answers online and you’ll get everything right. That’s what I thought I could do, but I was extremely wrong. You see, this is what happened: the professor told the class that we would be having a take home test. Then, I thought to myself, “piece of cake, I could just look for the answers in the book or online.” So then during lecture, I didn’t take much notes and I just started daydreaming a lot, and when it came to that test, I found out that the material was all basically from the lecture. I guess I wasn’t the only one who thought that the take home test was going to be easy because according to our professor, most of the class didn’t do so well. Now during class, I take crazy notes so I don’t get stuck on the tests. I’d say for about every lecture, I have about three to four pages typed of notes. I feel like I have to write down every word that my professor says. Hopefully the midterm goes well.

So yesterday was Halloween!! It wasn’t as exciting as I hoped it would be, but I still had a lot of fun. Like most weekends, a whole bunch of people go home, so there aren’t many people around. Some people in my hall dressed up. I didn’t wear a costume but I wore a dress and put on some makeup because I wanted to feel dressed up! I would have worn a costume if I had money and transportation to go and get one, but unfortunately, I have neither. So last night, I went to Olive Garden with some suitemates and had some yummy lasagna. It was my first time there so it was pretty exciting. After dinner, we went back to our dorm and a bunch of us in our hall watched The Butterfly Effect downstairs. It’s such a crazy movie, but I like it. So that was pretty much my Halloween night. Could have been more exciting but I’m glad I got to spend time with my hall. I LOVE BAHIA!! =)
I’m getting pretty hungry so I think I’m going to end this blog for now and eat my left over lasagna from Olive Garden. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!!

LOVE, daisy

October 24, 2009

Hello everybody!

Where do I begin? Well I guess to start off, my name is Daisy Manapsal. I was born and raised in San Jose, California and I’m currently living on campus in Mesa Court. I love to sing, play sports, shop, watch movies, read books, and just hang out. My favorite types of movies are romance, and therefore, if you haven’t already guessed it, The Notebook is at the top of my list. My favorite food is chicken and what I believe is the best tasting ice cream flavor in the world is chocolate, mixed with almonds. Back home in the Bay Area, I have the most two amazing dogs in the whole world, Simba and Skillz. I miss them so much, along with my family that I love with all my heart. I’m just so glad to be here at UCI because I know that I am making them very proud. Well, thats me in a nutshell.

It is now the end of week 4 of the quarter and I just can’t believe how time is going by so fast! Midterms are coming up, so lately, I’ve been studying extra hard so I do well, especially in Bio 93 because that’s my most difficult class. I’ve never done so much reading in such a short period of time, but I’m getting used to it. It really helps to choose classes that you’re interested in, because if you don’t, then it’s a lot more difficult to stay motivated and do well in that class. At least that’s what I think.

Since I’m far away from home, I do feel homesick at times. A lot of students go home on the weekends so it gets pretty quiet here. In a way, quiet is good because that means I get more studying done!! Yay.

So far, this year is going great for me. I like most of my classes, and the people in my dorm are all really cool. I hope by the end of the school year, I feel accomplished with my studies and I hope to be excited for the upcoming year. I haven’t joined any clubs or organizations yet, but hopefully by the end of the year, I am more involved with school activities, and possibly get my very first job!

Unfortunately, I must get back to studying for upcoming midterms. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed my very first blog!! =)

LOVE, daisy